Bournemouth were promoted from npower League One after their 3-1 win over Carlisle on Saturday.

The Cherries showed off their credentials with a comprehensive victory which saw goals for Steve Cook, Harry Arter and Brett Pitman, as Lee Miller's 50th minute goal for Carlisle proved only to be a consolation.

Bournemouth's return to the second tier after an absence of 23 years was confirmed after third-placed Brentford failed to beat lowly Hartlepool in the late kick-off.

Hartlepool put Brentford under early pressure when Luke James scored the opening goal in the 25th minute but Marcello Trotta equalised for the Bees five minutes before the break.

However, it was not enough to stop Bournemouth, who have 82 points and are assured of a top-two finish as their nearest challengers Brentford and Doncaster meet in the final game of the season.

Doncaster threw away their chance of sealing promotion on Saturday after they were beaten 1-0 by Notts County.

The defeat, in which Joss Labadie scored the only goal in the 14th minute, saw Doncaster slip into second place, one point behind Bournemouth.

At the other end of the table, Scunthorpe boosted their slim chances of escaping from relegation with a 1-0 win at MK Dons.

Karl Hawley scored for the Iron in the 41st minute to leave them with a mathematical chance of avoiding the drop if they can beat Swindon, Colchester lose to Carlisle and they can engineer a three-goal swing in the last game of the season.

Portsmouth took the shine off Sheffield United's charge into the play-offs when they beat them 3-0 at Fratton Park.

Shaun Cooper, David Connolly and Jed Wallace all scored in the first half to leave the Blades on the wrong end of a defeat, but they remain in sixth place with two games left to play.

Aden Flint opened the scoring for Swindon ahead of Stevenage striker Daniel Lopez's 39th-minute dismissal before his 73rd minute score sandwiched Gary Roberts's strike as the home side climbed to fifth place.

Jean Yves Mvoto's last-minute goal for Oldham saw them climb their way to safety as they beat Crawley 2-1.

Matt Smith's 56th minute strike was cancelled out by Crawley defender Mark Connolly's header midway through the second half, but Mvoto had the final word as Oldham moved clear of the bottom three.

till I suppose it still gives him at least another year in the job. By the time it comes around , he can always make up another excuse. First it was 3 months , then a year .....Next year ? Whats his excuse with Van Persie ?